The Hindu Business Line : Marathon: Mumbai Inc shows it cares & shares

Mike Powell (right) the long jump world record holder, and Michael Johnson (left), former Olympic Gold medallist, at the Mumbai International Marathon on Sunday. South Africa's Hendrik Ramaala won the 42-km race, while Poland's Violetta Uryga was the women's champion. - Paul Noronha

Mumbai , Feb. 15

AGAINST the backdrop of the Mumbai skyline, dotted with recognisable edifices such as the Air-India and Oberoi buildings, corporates participating in the Standard Chartered Mumbai International Marathon 2004 couldn't have asked for a more scenic platform to showcase themselves.

But as the participants raced down the promenade along the sea this morning, the event began to unfold into something bigger than the corporates that patronised it. It tuned into a celebration of the spirit of competition among star athletes, of the strong commitment to social causes of corporate honchos, like the junior Ambani who ran the 21-km half-marathon, and of the determination to brave all odds, as displayed by the visually-challenged participants.

Early-risers fringing the marathon route applauded respectfully as elite athletes stole a march over other participants. But cheers and chaos came with the "dream run" of seven kms and its celebrity runners, all in it for a cause.

The full marathon story held out a lot of revelations; an inspiring one being that of visually challenged Kenyan athlete Henry Wanyoike who runs with a guide. For those uninitiated in the world of marathoners, Wanyoike last won the Hong Kong half-marathon competing with fully-abled runners.

Then came the heart-warming episode of Sunday's event: "Wanyoike's guide developed some uneasiness, and at this stage, another Kenyan athlete gave up his competitive edge and offered to run as the blind athlete's guide," recounts an organiser who witnessed the event.

As for those interested in the fortunes of the Reliance Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Anil Ambani, he completed the half-marathon and subsequently took part in the `dream-run' as well! Sceptics too turned believers of Mr Ambani's prowess, more so since the story doing the rounds is that a donor had promised Rs 50,000 for every minute that the Reliance honcho ran.

Mr Ambani later told a television channel that the feat reflected the "state of mind" and admitted that it was indeed "a personal achievement."

Achievement it also was for the little lad who ran bare-feet and made that final dash to complete the half-marathon, his hands raised like a winner. The crowds egged him on, their cheering matched only by the drone of choppers and the hum of motorbikes used by photographers to record the event.

Another info-nugget from sponsors: "the bike, Royal Enfield's Bullet Electra, was the only one stable enough to support a mounted camera, thanks to its gas-filled shockers."

With Doordarshan and ESPN taking the event to a wider audience, corporates sponsoring the event must have got their money's worth of mind-space. But the message to corporate patrons, as the event goes into history, was pithily stated on T-shirts worn by the visually challenged participants: "Can't stop, Gotta Run," it read, perhaps indicating that social responsibility is for the long haul.

For the record, the top honour went to South Africa's Hendrik Ramala who won the purse of $25,000.

Over an estimated 17,000 people participated for the total prize money worth $2,10,000.

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Marathon: Mumbai Inc shows it cares & shares